CS 93: Computing for Social Good — Fall 2019

Directed Reading Info

Meetings: Tuesday/Thursday, 11:45 AM - 12:45 PM, Science Center 246 (CS seminar room)

Professor: Kevin Webb

Paper Discussion

To prepare for paper discussions, you should bring a marked/annotated/highlighted copy of the paper to class with you. You should mark or briefly note:

  • Any relevant information about the authors or other background context (e.g., publication venue, where the work was done, etc.) that might affect how we discuss the paper.

  • The major contributions of the paper or its key findings and conclusions.

  • Your commentary: What are two+ things that you found most interesting or liked best? What are two+ things that you’re skeptical of, didn’t care for, or found to be incomplete?

  • Anything that you think is a good candidate for discussion (e.g., choice quotes or interesting results).

  • Questions or topics for which you’d like to get more clarification.

Finally, please participate in the discussions. A directed reading doesn’t work if nobody talks!

Schedule

This is a tentative schedule; it may change as we go.

Day Date Reading

Tuesday

September 10

Disruption for Social Good

Thursday

September 12

Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?

Tuesday

September 17

The Binge Breaker

Thursday

September 19

The Daily Me (#Republic chapter 1)

Tuesday

September 24

  1. Internet Giants Face new Political Resistance in Washington

  2. Is "Big Tech" Too Big? A Look at Growing Antitrust Scrutiny

Bonus: Microsoft President: Democracy Is At Stake. Regulate Big Tech

Thursday

September 26

Project discussions / outreach planning.

Tuesday

October 1

  1. Disability, Human Rights, and Social Justice

  2. Introduction to Web Accessibility

  3. An Alphabet of Accessibility Issues

Thursday

October 3

  1. Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber

  2. What James Damore Got Wrong About Gender Bias in Computer Science

Tuesday

October 8

Brotopia — Chapter 0 (Intro) & Chapter 1

Thursday

October 10

Project discussions / outreach planning.

October 15 & 17

Fall Break!

Tuesday

October 22

No meeting, Kevin has jury duty.

Thursday

October 24

  1. The Eternal Value of Privacy

  2. AI Has Made Video Surveillance Automated and Terrifying

  3. Amazon Echo and Google Home patents show the power they have to compromise your privacy

Tuesday

October 29

Weapons of Math Destruction — Chapter 0 (Intro) & Chapter 1

Thursday

October 31

Weapons of Math Destruction — Chapter 6

Tuesday

November 5

Weapons of Math Destruction — Chapter 5

Thursday

November 7

Project discussions / outreach planning.

Tuesday

November 12

  1. Google Hedges on Promise to End Controversial Involvement in Military Drone Contract

  2. Driving Innovation: the Military, Technology, and Silicon Valley

  3. Tech And The Military: 15+ Tech CEOs And Investors Weigh In On The Uproar Over Government Contracts

Bonus:

Thursday

November 14

ISTAS Conference

Tuesday

November 19

Conference Debrief and Disucssion

Thursday

November 21

  1. Ethics and automation: What to do when workers are displaced

  2. Automation is making human labor more valuable than ever

  3. Why American Workers Need to Be Protected From Automation

  4. The Future of Work: The Rise of Workers Who Self Automate Their Jobs

(Don’t worry, they’re all short.)

Tuesday

November 26

  1. How China Is Using “Social Credit Scores” to Reward and Punish Its Citizens

  2. How the West Got China’s Social Credit System Wrong

  3. America Has a Social Credit System Much Like China’s

Tuesday

December 3

  1. Palantir Knows Everything About You

  2. Here’s what you need to know about Palantir

  3. Palantir Gotham

Thursday

December 5

  1. Personalized medicine: revolutionizing drug discovery and patient care

  2. Genetic Inequality: Human Genetic Engineering

  3. Industry Voices—Surescripts exec on how tech is driving headway on opioid crisis

Tuesday

December 10

  1. Computational Sustainability: Computing for a Better World and a Sustainable Future

  2. Rare Earth Metals: Will We Have Enough?

Bonus (more details about REMs — not required):

Academic Accommodations

If you believe that you need accommodations for a disability, please contact the Office of Student Disability Services (Parrish 113) or email studentdisabilityservices@swarthmore.edu to arrange an appointment to discuss your needs. As appropriate, the office will issue students with documented disabilities a formal Accommodations Letter. Since accommodations require early planning and are not retroactive, please contact them as soon as possible. For details about the accommodations process, visit the Student Disability Service Website.

You are encouraged to contact me privately to discuss your academic needs, but all official disability-related accommodations must be arranged through the Office of Student Disability Services. To receive an accommodation for a course activity you must have an official Accommodations Letter and you need to meet with me to work out the details of your accommodation at least two weeks prior to any activity requiring accommodations.